TMYTEK Beamformer Series are 5G instruments featuring BBox One and BBox Lite

Ready-to-Use 5G Instruments

The Beamformer Series is a set of 5G instruments designed to help you easily move into 5G NR mmWave beamforming development and test. They allow for phase and amplitude control through the ethernet connection and are comprised of RF components such as a T/R switch, LNA/PA, and phase shifters, as well as a standard antenna for 5G beam steering.

The BBox One comprises 16-channel RF control, a standard antenna kit, and API software control through an ethernet interface. This instrument is an excellent RF probe for OTA test of mmWave on the production line.

The BBox Lite is the lighter version of the BBox series. It consists of 4 channel RF control, a standard antenna kit, and API software control through an ethernet interface. This instrument is suited for manufacturing tests, OTA chamber development, and educational purposes.

5G Beamformer Internal Structure

Diagram outlining the internal structure of 5G instruments BBox One, BBox Lite, and Board.

Compare 5G Instruments

An Introduction to ports and comms of the BBox One

	26 GHz	28 GHz	39 GHz
Frequency	24.25 27.5 GHz	26.5 - 29.5 GHz	37.0 - 40.0 GHz
RF Channels	4 x 4	4 x 4	4 x 4
Phi-A Tx/Rx Gain	8 -12 / 0 -4 dB	8 -12 / 0-4 dB	1 -5 / -1 -3 dB
Phi-A Phase Shifting Range	360°	360°	360°
System Tx/Rx Gain	38 / 30 dB	36 / 28 dB	29 / 25 dB
Beam Steering Range (V)	± 45 °	± 45 °	± 40 °
153.8 x 80 x 80	± 45 °	± 45 °	± 40 °
Dimensions (mm)	153.8 x 80 x 80	153.8 x 80 x 80	153.8 x 80 x 80
Datasheets

An Introduction to ports and comms of the BBox Lite

	28 GHz	39 GHz
Frequency	26.5 - 29.5 GHz	37.0 - 40.0 GHz
RF Channels	1 x 4	1 x 4
Phi-A Tx/Rx Gain	16 / 12 dB	15 / 10 dB
Phi-A Phase Shifting Range	360°	360°
System Tx/Rx Gain	34 / 30 dB	31 / 26 dB
Beam Steering Range (V)	Fixed	Fixed
153.8 x 80 x 80	± 45 °	± 45 °
Dimensions (mm)	117.4 x 100 x 99.2	117.4 x 100 x 99.2
Datasheets

An Introduction to ports and comms of the BBoard

	28 GHz	39 GHz
Frequency	26.5 - 29.5 GHz	37.0 - 40.0 GHz
RF Channels	1 x 4	1 x 4
Phi-A Tx/Rx Gain	15 / 11 dB	14 / 9 dB
Phi-A Phase Shifting Range	360°	360°
System Tx/Rx Gain	---	---
Beam Steering Range (V)	---	---
153.8 x 80 x 80	---	---
Dimensions (mm)	105.6 x 98 x 37	105.6 x 98 x 37
Datasheets

Software Ready

Screen shot of the TMXLab software on-board each 5G instrument beam former

API Compatible with Python/MATLAB/LabVIEW/C++/C#

User Interface:

Simple beam steering control
Individual channel control
Customized antenna setting

Development Tool for 5G mmWave System Designers and Algorithm Developers

Baseband developers implement advanced algorithms for 5G NR mmWave such as beam tracking and beam control. The air interface is mandatory to radiate controllable beam patterns. With multiple BBox, multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) technology with beamforming is possible.

BBox is a complete software/hardware integrated device from firmware, API, to beamformer FEM. 5G protocol developers can verify the beam tracking algorithm and protocols by connecting BBox to a baseband instrument. BBox allows engineers to precisely control gain and phase, making it ideal for the research and development of beamforming algorithms and protocols.